We are having a great first grade year for G.  Sure, we have our days that make us both want to bang our heads in together in mutual frustration but overall we love it.  Here is the curriculum we have been using (for the most part):

• Explode the Code – G has worked through book 4 and is almost finished with book 5.  This is phonics, spelling, and vocabulary all in one.
• Writing with Ease, Level 1 – G is halfway through this book.  In this level, we are working on reading comprehension and copywork and it is a fantastic introduction to great works of literature as well as a back door introduction to good writing skills through copywork.  Did I mention the great handwriting practice?  This book sometimes induces many grumbles from G.
• First Language Lessons, Level 1 – This book works hand-in-hand with Writing with Ease.  It introduces grammar through verbal conversations, scripted lessons, and includes memory work.
• Math-U-See – We finished up the Alpha Level a month or so ago and started the Beta level.  (I think this would be equivalent to 2nd grade?)  G is halfway through the Beta level already.  He loves his math.
• Horizons Math – I know, I know.  It seems strange to use two math curriculums but I use this book to reinforce math concepts, extra practice and to slow him down (although that clearly hasn’t happened).  The combination works well for him.
• Homeschool Art (Artelier) - G is taking blocks of this art program as a class with a dear friend and homeschool mom who is an amazing artist.  There are 8-10 kids per class and he thoroughly enjoys it.  They end each 6-8 week session with a trip to a local art museum.  It is very hands on.  I’ll do a separate post later with pictures of the work he has done.
• Piano – Yes, yes, G is doing piano lessons.  But with me?  No.  Why?  (I know you’re asking yourself.)  There are several reasons I can get into later, but in short, it just works better this and is very common in the music field.  I take G to another teacher and he is doing really great.
• Reading/Literature – G loves to read!  His favorite books are currently the Magic Tree House series.  We read lots of different books together as well – history, geography fiction, missionary stories, etc.  We just finished reading Wizard of Oz together as well.
• Classical Conversations – This is a homeschool “group” that we are a part of this year.  They follow the classical model of education, their purpose being “to know God and make Him known.”  Both G and S are thoroughly enjoying this group.  They each have their own small class (approx. 8 kids) and a tutor.  Each week they learn material in geography, history, American history, Latin, math, Science, and art/music.  G has soaked it up.  Ask him states and capitals – go ahead!  It’s remarkable what he has learned through this system.  More later on this as well.

I decided, the black-thumb that I am, to put in a butterfly garden outside the homeschool classroom window (ie formal dining room window) for us to gaze upon and learn from as we work.  Read:  beautiful distraction.  I also have high hopes to turn my black thumb into a green thumb.  We shall see, but I am hopeful!  After all, we do have children now capable of pulling weeds.  Yea!   I am sure that our neighbors are THRILLED that the dirt pile that was in this particular flower bed now resembles something pretty and recognizable.  :)

This past weekend, now that Upwards Basketball is over, Chris did some research and then we spent a considerable amount of time at our local Ace Hardware Garden Center with a most helpful staff in their butterfly garden section (really!) and invested in some flowers and a bird bath and got to work.  Before you wonder about the bird bath, apparently butterflies need places to rest and some water.  More on that later…

Here are the results.  Keep in mind that we are no way gardening design experts and I will be super excited if these things grow and flower and stay alive, much less draw butterflies.  I really am determined turn my thumb from black to green.

 

One of the pretty flowers we put in...

This flower is my favorite - it'll have a pretty pink bloom and it smells like, hmmm, citrus tea I think? Love it.

Then this morning while doing some school work, we look outside and see not one but two birds enjoying the bird bath!  I ran to get the camera and got the following shots:

Our first bird visitor, preparing for his morning bath

I'm divin' in, I'm goin' deep, in over my head, I'm gonna be...

How fun is that?!  We had a ball watching the birds.  No butterflies yet but if I were a butterfly I’m not sure I’d get near that craziness.  Our plan is for Chris to get a couple of large rocks to put in the garden as well – warm resting places for the butterflies also.

We have been having a great time with science in school lately.  We did an overview of the human body using this book:

The Body (Teacher Created Resources) by Patti Carratello

I traced each of the kids bodies on butcher paper on hung them on the wall.  Then this book provides life-size black-and-white sheets of the organs and body parts pictured above for the kids to color, cut out, then paste or attach to the body using brads.  Specific instructions were provided as to what colors to use and exactly where to place and paste so that parts can be lifted to see organs underneath.  While they colored and cut, I would read the basic explanations of what each part did.

The kids loved doing this and looked forward to it every day (well, every day that we got to it in this season of the plague hovering over our home).  And what great parental practice for explaining the, ahem, reproductive organs.  If you have subscribed to my private family blog, you can see a detailed picture there.  I keep my kids’ off of the public internet for privacy purposes.

Another science topic we have embarked upon is plants and seeds and birds and bees.  In the very literal sense.  We have studied how pollen travels from flower to flower to make seeds, and how seeds sprout to make seedlings and grow to plants.  With that in mind we used supplies provided with Sonlight’s science kit (well, these are supplies I could’ve easily procured around here), we grew some bean plants!

First we put some kidney beans in a jar with wet paper towels and watched them sprout.  Amazingly cool, by the way, how plants grow with just water and sunlight like that.  What a miraculous God we have!  We left those to grow for about a week (um, or more, because of someone-who-shall-rename-nameless’s laziness) and then today we planted them in little peat pots!  The result:

Now, consider that I traditionally have a “black thumb” so this will be a serious challenge to keep these alive in the name of homeschool education.  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…

We are also reading Usborne books about Caterpillars and Butterflies (my favorite!).  Our plan is to turn the flower bed in front of the window where we have our homeschool room into a little butterfly garden.  (Read:  the husband’s department.)  *big grin*  Chris has already researched and designed the project, we just need the time to put it in.  I can’t wait to look out and see beautiful flowers and fluttering butterflies!

We had a great morning this morning in homeschool…because of the little things.

We finally ventured out of the house after yet another round of the flu for G and Daddy.  It is an absolutely beautiful morning this morning.  After walking around the neighborhood with Huntley, we played in the front yard and drive-way.  G suddenly runs up to me while I was talking with a neighbor and he was holding a dandelion in his hand, with the seeds partially blown away…

“Look Mommy!  Just like we talked about yesterday!”

In school yesterday we had continued our discussion of seeds and flowers and (literally) birds and bees and how pollen moves from plant to plant to form seeds and how animals and the wind (and other things) help move seeds to new places for plants to grow.  One of the pictures was of the wind blowing dandelion seeds about.  It was truly a joy to see G discover this for himself in our front yard this morning.  I demonstrated blowing seeds for him and let him try, then we took it inside and compared it to the picture in the book and then looked at the parts of the plant we had been studying, too, and of course followed that up with more seed blowing.

It’s just fun blowing those seeds around – such a child-like wonder even if you are an adult!

G also picked a weed-flower plant from our front yard ran in and put it in a glass of water.  After we settled back inside, he grabbed the book and said, “Here Mommy, let’s find it in the book.  We need to discover it!”  Again, heart a-flutter, I went to work, completely unsure of how in the world I would identify this weed!  Of course, it wasn’t in our little Usborne book “How Flowers Grow” so we turned to Google, or as G says “Goooooooooooooooooooooogle”  Ha!

Eureka!  Amazingly, I found it.  Wanna see?  Of course you do.  Because I’m impressed I found it myself.  And it was pure joy seeing his eyes light up at finding it, too.

It is an Asiatic false Hawksbeard.  I personally think it sounds like a pirate flower with a name like that.  Here is a picture:

Asiatic False Hawksbeard

We LOVE homeschooling.  I wouldn’t trade anything in the world for these precious moments of learning with my children, seeing his eyes light up at his excitement of discovering these new things, seeing him enjoy science and math, and learning to read.  I’m already picking our curriculum for next year.  :D

It’s been awhile since I’ve done  a “State of the Homeschool” update.  Because I know you all are on the edge of your seats just waiting to find out, aren’t you?  :P

• We have taken a break in Math-U-See (Alpha level) because of G hitting a road block in the subtraction department and have branched out to flashcards and to the Horizon Kindergarten level to reinforce/reintroduce the same concepts from a different direction.  I really like the curriculum so far.  I have started S at Lesson 1, in fact, since it is at her level currently and G really is closer to book 2 of that same level.
• I have introduced a more organized art curriculum called “Draw – Write – Now” that combines handwriting with drawing lessons.  It either has students draw a farm animal (book 1) and then handwrite a few sentences about it, or uses a word or letter or number and build a picture around that word.  For example, writing the number “2″ then using that as a basis for drawing a swan.  I enjoyed working through all the drawing lessons myself last week as I watched a tv show, then this morning I did the first lesson with the kids (S just drew without doing the handwriting part) and they loved it!  G got the hang of it right away and S enjoyed adding her personal unique touch to the rest of the picture.
• G started asking questions about how the human body works.  ”Mommy, what happens when you breathe in?  Mommy, then what?  Mommy, then what?”  At our local homeschool store, I was pointed to a cute little book called “My Body.”  First, it has you trace your child’s body on a butcher paper, then each page has a “life size” cut-out and coloring page of each body part and organ and easy explanation for how it works.  Once your child colors it, then you glue it or use a brad to tack it on to their own “body” you traced for them.  At the end, they have a life-sized image of their own body with body parts.  How cool is that?!  I started this lesson today also.  We traced their bodies and (somehow) found space on the wall to tack them up, then colored the picture of the brain (specific instructions provided), cut it out, and glued it to their “heads.”  I read them the information about their brains, but also had G copy as a handwriting exercise some of the same information.  At the end, he will have a booklet on the human body in his own handwriting.
• They have both started Upwards Basketball.  This is a nationwide Christian sports organization.  They do devotionals at each practice and game.  Both S and G are playing and they had their first games this past Saturday.  Very cute indeed.  No refs needed as the art of dribbling and other fine details just haven’t happened yet.  They have jerseys and everything.  And both kids have the number 14!
• G is doing great in reading…loves, loves, loves to read!  Anything and everything.
• I keep S busy with various puzzles, writing her name, coloring and she absorbs a lot from G’s lessons.  More than realize actually.  She has been accepted into the same preschool G was in and hopefully will have the same teacher that G did.  She is very excited about that, as am I!  Then, for the year after that, I look forward to homeschooling both kids.  I love homeschooling more than I ever thought I would and cannot imagine doing anything else now.  I absolutely love it!